NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 10024-0018 (Oct. 1990)

United States Department of the Interior National Park Service

National Register of Historic Places Registration Form

This form is for use in nominating or requesting determinations for individual properties and districts. See iriSiruiliufis in How to Complete the National Register of Historic Places registration Form (National Register Bulletin 16A). Complete each item by marking "x" in the appropriate box or by entering the information requested. If an item does not apply to the property being documented, enter "N/A" for "not applicable." For functions, architectural classification, materials, and areas of significance, enter only categories and subcategories from the instructions. Place additional entries and narrative items on continuation sheets (NPS Form 10-900a). Use a typewriter, word processor, or computer, to complete all items.

1. Name of Property______

historic name Dixie Greyhound Lines Complex______other names/site number Toddle House (offices)

2. Location street & number 525 North Main Street N/A O not for publication city or town Memphis______N/A Q vicinity state Tennessee Code TN county Shelby code 157 zip code 38107

3. State/Federal Agency Certification

As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended, I hereby certify that this ^ nomination Q request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register of Historic Places and meets the procedural and professional requirements set for in 36 CFR Part 60. In my opinion, the property ^ meets Q does not meet the National Register criteria. I recommend that this property be considere/l significant Q nationally Q statewide ^ locally. (See continuation shee); for additional comments.)

Signature of certifying official/Title /Date ^ Deputy State Historic Pres ation Officer, Tennessee Historical Commission State or Federal agency and bureau

In my opinion, the property Q meets Q does not meet the National Register criteria. (Q See Continuation sheet for additional comments.)

Signature of certifying official/Title Date

State or Federal agency and bureau

4. Natio/ial Park Service Certification hereby^ertify that the property is: Date of Action 0 entered in the National Register. Q See continuation sheet D determined eligible for the National Register. Q See continuation sheet Q determined not eligible for the National Register Q removed from the National Register. D other, (explain:) Dixie Greyhound Bus Lines Complex Shelby County, Tennessee Name of Property County and State

5. Classification Ownership of Property Category of Property Number of Resources within Property (Check as many boxes as (Check only one box) (Do not include previously listed resources in count) apply)

private building(s) Contributing Noncontributing public-local district public-State site 2 buildings public-Federal structure sites object structures objects 2 Total Name of related multiple property listing Number of Contributing resources previously listed (Enter "N/A" if property is not part of a multiple property listing.) In the National Register N/A

6. Function or Use Historic Functions Current Functions (Enter categories from instructions) (Enter categories from instructions) COMMERCE/transportation=garageand offices COMMERCE/business=mini-storage, garage and offices

7. Description Architectural Classification Materials (Enter categories from instructions) (Enter categories from instructions) Moderne foundation CAST CONCRETE walls BRICK

roof BUILT-UP other CAST CONCRETE STEEL

Narrative Description (Describe the historic and current condition of the property on one or more continuation sheets.) Dixie Greyhound Bus Lines Complex Shelby, Tennessee Name of Property County and State

8. Statement of Significance Applicable National Register Criteria Areas of Significance (Mark "x" in one or more boxes for the criteria qualifying the property (Enter categories from instructions) for National Register listing.) n A Property is associated with events that have made COMMERCE a significant contribution to the broad patterns of TRANSPORTATION our history.

^ B Property is associated with the lives of persons significant in our past. n C Property embodies the distinctive characteristics Of a type, period, or method of construction or represents the work of a master, or possesses high artistic values, or represents a significant and distinguishable entity who's components lack Period of Significance individual distinction. 1937-1948 n D Property has yielded, or is likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history.

Criteria Considerations N/A Significant Dates (Mark "x" in all boxes that apply.) 1937 Property is: n A owned by a religious institution or used for religious purposes. Significant Person Q B removed from its original location. (complete if Criterion B is marked) Smith, Sr, Frederick Q C moved from its original location. Cultural Affiliation Q] D a cemetery. N/A

Q] E a reconstructed building, object, or structure.

Q F a commemorative property Architect/Builder n G less than 50 year of age or achieved significance Unknown within the past 50 years.

Narrative Statement of Significance (Explain the significance of the property on one or more continuation sheets.) 9. Major Bibliographical References Bibliography (Cite the books, articles, and other sources used in preparing this form on one or more continuation sheets.) Previous documentation on file (NFS): Primary location of additional data: ^ preliminary determination of individual listing (36 [>3 State Historic Preservation Office CFR 67) has been requested n Other State Agency n previously listed in the National Register [] Federal Agency [] Previously determined eligible by the National Q Local Government Register Q] University Q] designated a National Historic Landmark D Other [] recorded by Historic American Buildings Survey Name of repository: # ______[] recorded by Historic American Engineering Record # Dixie Greyhound Bus Lines Complex Shelby, Tennessee Name of Property County and State

10. Geographical Data

Acreage of Property Approximately 2 acres (Northwest Memphis 404 NE)

UTM References (place additional UTM references on a continuation sheet.)

1 15 768899 3894430 Zone Easting Northing Zone Easting Northing

I | See continuation sheet

Verbal Boundary Description (Describe the boundaries of the property on a continuation sheet.)

Boundary Justification (Explain why the boundaries were selected on a continuation sheet.)

11. Form Prepared By

name/title Judith Johnson, Architectural Historian organization Judith Johnson & Associates date May 2003 street & number 176 Windover Cove #1 __ telephone 901/324-4618 city or town Memphis______state TN____ zip code 38111 Additional Documentation submit the following items with the completed form:

Continuation Sheets

Maps A USGS map (7.5 or 15 minute series) indicating the property's location

A Sketch map for historic districts and properties having large acreage or numerous resources.

Photographs

Representative black and white photographs of the property.

Additional items (Check with the SHPO) or FPO for any additional items

Property Owner______(Complete this item at the request of SHPO or FPO.) name Downtown Mini Storage, LLC c/o JD Ballinger______street & number 1408 Pecan Trees Drive Telephone 901-949-4949 city or town Germantown state TN __ zip code 38138

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: This information is being collected for applications to the National Register of Historic Places to nominate properties for listing or determine eligibility for listing, to list properties, and to amend existing listing. Response to this request is required to obtain a benefit in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.)

Estimated Burden Statement: Public reporting burden for this form is estimated to average 18.1 hours per response including time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining data, and completing and reviewing the form. Direct comments regarding this burden estimate or any aspect of this form to the Chief, Administrative Services Division, National Park Service, P. O. Box 37127, Washington, DC 20013-7127; and the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reductions Projects (1024-0018), Washington, DC 20303. NPS Form 10-900-a 0MB Approval No. 1024-0018 (8-86)

United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet

Dixie Greyhound Bus Lines Complex Section number 7 Page 1 Memphis, Shelby County, TN

Narrative Description

The Dixie Greyhound Bus Lines Complex, located at 525 North Main Street, is composed of two commercial buildings located between North Main and North Front streets, a city block beyond the western edge of the residential Greenlaw Addition Historic District (NR, 8/16/84). The larger of the two buildings, which contained the maintenance garage and corporate business offices, extends from Main Street back west to Front Street with no set-back. This building was constructed for Frederick Smith, Sr., a self-made Memphis businessman, in 1936-1937. It was built with a Modern-style facade. This split-level garage and office building has a two-story facade, irregular plan, steel frame construction, thirteen by twenty bays, yellow colored brick and a flat, built-up roof. It contains 26,250 square feet constructed at a constructed at a cost of $140,000. 1 The interior retains integrity, although it has been recently adapted for use as mini storage space. Located to the southwest and recessed from Main Street is a second building, called the bus barn because of its historical use as storage for the . The bus barn extends to the northeast corner of Front Street at Sycamore Street. This two- story brick building was originally built in 1902 and remodeled in 1935 by Dixie Greyhound to its present appearance. A plain building with no decorative features, the interior of the building is characterized by the large open space. Both buildings exhibit multi-light windows that are currently covered by metal. Overall, the complex retains its architectural integrity.

Similar to other 1920s bus service entrepreneurs, Frederick Smith, Sr. began with a one-vehicle company. However, Smith went on to become the chairman of the Dixie Greyhound Bus Lines, a division of the Greyhound Corporation, as well as the chairman and president of the Toddle House restaurants. Both of these Memphis-based, transportation-related businesses were headquartered in this maintenance and office complex. The Dixie Greyhound Bus Lines, and after the 1950s merger, simply the Greyhound Lines were located there from 1937 until sometime in the 1990s. Toddle House restaurants office was located there from 1937 until 1949.

The main building's east facing, triparte, Moderne-style facade contains a recessed center section which has been extended to sit flush with the north and south sections by enclosing and extending the original metal shed roof above the vehicular entrance and installing three replacement overhead metal vehicular doors and a metal pedestrian bay on the south side. It is not known when the original vehicular entrance was altered, but it appears to be a historic alteration, possibly after World War II ended and gasoline was no longer rationed. This alteration bricked-in the single light exterior windows on either side of the vehicular entrance and a side door. The overhead doors were subsequently replaced in 2000 with corrugated metal ones.

The first and second stories of the facade contain the original, twelve-light, metal casement, triple windows joined by cast concrete lintels and spandrel panels. In addition, there are four sets of original, twelve-light, metal casement, paired windows on the second-story of the recessed center portion of the facade. There are three historic, off-center pedestrian entries on the fagade, two on the southern side and one on the north, all with one-light, c. 1960 commercial replacement doors.

The facade also boasts original polychrome brick wainscoting extending a foot above the pedestrian entries. Also original are the inlaid polychrome piers which frame the fagade windows and are further embellished with three vertical applied brick squares at the second story level. In addition, identical sets of two rows of three applied brick squares are found adjacent to the piers on the facade. The cornice is clad in metal coping. Directly below the cornice on both the north and

Kimesia Chiles-Isbell, Dixie Greyhound Bus Lines Coverform (Memphis: Memphis Heritage, Inc., 1988), 3. NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 (8-86)

United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet

Dixie Greyhound Bus Lines Complex Section number 7 Page 2 Memphis, Shelby County, TN

south sections of the facade is an original, wall mounted, porcelain-baked enamel, rectangular sign emblazoned with the company's greyhound logo. A similar but larger historic sign adorns the center section.

The north and south elevations also contain original, twelve-light, metal casement, paired windows joined by cast concrete lintels and spandrel panels. They have unornamented inlaid polychrome piers on either side of the windows which are separated by more modest, two rows of two, applied brick squares on the north and south elevations of the two-story portion. The windows in the one-story rear section are original, fifteen-light metal casements with molded concrete sills which have metal sheets screwed over them, both inside and out, for security purposes. There are two incised pedestrian entrances with replacement, c.1970 slab, metal doors on the north elevation and two on the south elevation also. The rear of the west elevation building has three sets of boarded windows, an incised pedestrian entrance with metal slab door and a shed with a shed roof.

The three distinct sections of the main building's facade reflect the varying uses of the interior space of the garage and office building. The southern section's two replacement single light doors lead into an area originally used as an office for the garage. This office area has been reduced in square footage although it retains the original ceiling height. A new, sheet rock interior wall runs the length of the room and behind that is a new, three-room apartment with bath for the site manager that is accessed by a new metal slab door located on the right side of the counter. On the exterior of the west wall of the apartment unit is a single stall public restroom which opens into the maintenance area.

The middle section opens into the maintenance area which has a low ceiling and large grates to drain off water from the bus washing activities that occurred here. At the rear of the building, exposed steel frame beams support the interior brick walls. The roof, which extends over the one-story rear area, has clearstory windows which illuminated the concrete floor and mechanic's pits for changing oil below the buses. These pits have recently been filled for safety reasons. Beginning thirty feet from the door are several rows of rectangular portable metal storage units.

The northernmost section housed the former corporate offices. The small entry foyer contains an original, cast iron stairwell. To the right of the stairwell is a new wall and metal slab entry door leading into historic offices with the original frosted glass and wood panel partitions. The walls are plaster, the cement floor was covered c. 2000 with carpet and the dropped ceilings replaced acoustical tile from an unknown date.

The stairwell has cast iron square railing leading to the second floor, which is remarkably intact. At the second floor landing, an original open hall leads to the south. The floor has original linoleum floor covering as well as original frosted glass and wood panel office partitions on the east side. The original plastered west wall has two wood-paneled cashier's cages, original tile floors in the men's and women's restrooms, and a replacement double door at the south end leading into a large room with original plaster walls and ceilings and an original linoleum floor which is in poor condition.

The north side of the second floor landing has original solid wood paneling on the wall with an original two-panel door leading into a linoleum covered central hall containing doors leading into the former executive offices, the administrative offices and a west corridor leading to storage rooms and a bathroom. The executive offices retain their integrity with original wood floors and wood-paneled walls with aluminum insets in a geometric Moderne pattern, a marble, paneled fireplace, and a tile-lined executive bath room complete with shower. The administrative office also retains both the original wood paneling and a patterned linoleum floor. However, all the ceilings have been dropped and covered with modern acoustical tile. NPS Form 10-900-a 0MB Approval No. 1024-0018 (8-86)

United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet

Dixie Greyhound Bus Lines Complex Section number 7 Page 3 Memphis, Shelby County, TN

The second building, named the bus barn, was used to house the buses. This structure was originally built in 1902 as a stable for the old Schlitz Brewery. In 1935, this building was purchased by Dixie Greyhound and remodeled to its present appearance. It was originally a masonry construction, rectangular-shaped mule barn. The old structure was gutted and replaced with a new steel frame infrastructure faced with concrete and brick and complements the central building in architectural detail. 2 Inexplicably, the only thing remaining from the 1902 building is the southern section of the east wall which is identifiable by a triangular parapet. The bus barn building is two stories in height, rectangular plan, yellow brick veneer, steel frame construction with a flat roof, seven by ten bays and has a flat cornice with metal coping except for the 1902 parapet wall incorporated into the southeast wall of the structure.

The exterior walls of the bus barn are devoid of any decoration other than a variety of metal casement windows containing eighteen, twenty-four or thirty-eight lights but most have metal panels screwed over them for security reasons. There is no clearly defined facade, however, the north side of the structure has two overhead vehicular roll-up metal doors located on the eastern end of the wall. The south elevation also has the same windows and one incised pedestrian entrance with a replacement c. 1970 metal slab door. The west elevation contains a third replacement overhead roll-up metal door flanked by three sets of windows on the first and second floors.

The interior of the bus barn is completely open except for a small room located in the northwest corner that was used to wash the buses. Similar to the garage building, a span of clearstory windows illuminates the interior space. The floor is poured concrete. There is a second floor mezzanine storage area that is now open, but still retains laths that supported the walls. The sheetrock material was removed because it contained asbestos. There is also an original large winch historically used to hoist heavy motor parts between the second floors and is still functional. The second floor is accessed by historic wood stairs.

The setting of the Complex remains industrial in nature. It is located between North Main and Front streets, both of which are major north-south streets connecting all of the downtown area. The utilities are above ground, the sidewalks are poured concrete with grass median strips and the streets are asphalt. East across North Main Streets is a large, concrete filled holding pond for flood control and encircled with a chain link fence. There are industrial buildings to the west, north and south.

2Kimesia Chiles-Isbell, Dixie Greyhound Bus Lines Coverform (Memphis: Memphis Heritage, Inc., 1988), 3. NPS Form 10-900-a 0MB Approval No. 10244018 (8-80)

United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet

Dixie Greyhound Bus Lines Complex Section number _7 Page 4 Memphis, Shelby County, TN

Site Plan - Not to Scale

VI

A—I I 1

United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet

Dixie Greyhound Bus Lines Complex Section number 7 Page Memphis, Shelby County, TN

First Floor Plan of Maintenance Garage and Offices (Building 1) - Not to Scale NPS Form 10-900-a 0MB Approval No. 10244018 (8-86)

United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet

Dixie Greyhound Bus Lines Complex Section number 7 Page 6 Memphis, Shelby County, TN

Second Floor Plan of Maintenance Garage and Offices (Building 1) - Not to Scale M f NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 (8-86)

United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet

Dixie Greyhound Bus Lines Complex Section number 8 Page 7 Memphis, Shelby County, TN

Statement of Significance

The Dixie Greyhound Bus Lines Complex is historically significant for its association with the life of Frederick Smith, Senior, a locally known entrepreneur in 20th century transportation and commerce and an important figure in the economic history of Memphis, Tennessee. Smith, the founder of the Smith Motor Company and later chairman of the Dixie Greyhound Bus Lines and the chairman and president of the Toddle House chain restaurants, headquartered his businesses here from 1937 until his death in 1948. The well-preserved Moderne style steel frame and brick veneer complex is the only surviving commercial property associated with Smith's business career.

Frederick (Fred) Smith Sr. was born in Anniston, in 1895, the son of a riverboat captain. As a youngster, the boy became the second generation of the family that worked in the transportation business when he began working for his father, Captain J. B. Smith of the steamboat Lee Lines, plying the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. 3

However, the era of steamboats was drawing to a close and eventually the elder Smith moved his family to Memphis in 1913 and began working in the grocery business. Young Frederick once worked for the Memphis based Piggly Wiggly stores; however he was drawn to transportation and began working as a salesman and mechanic at the John T. Fisher Motor Company in 1918. By the 1920s, the number of motor vehicles in the United States had swelled to a total of 9.2 million cars, trucks, and buses and there were over 4,000 independent bus lines running between selected cities.4

One of those independent lines was established in Memphis by Frederick Smith who recognized the local transportation needs. Using saved and borrowed money he began the Smith Motorcoach Company in September 1925 with outdoor offices on the sidewalks of the old city market by the Louisville & Nashville train station at Poplar Avenue and Front Street. In the beginning, his entire fleet consisted of a bus he built using a truck body and the routes consisted of one daily run between Rosemark in Shelby County and Memphis that he personally drove. A short time later, he extended the line to Dyersburg in Dyer County. In six short years, Smith's company grew to a fleet of more than 200 coaches covering 20,000 actual miles a day. It was one of the largest bus lines in the South when the Greyhound Corporation approached him about merging the Smith Motorcoach Company with them.

The Greyhound Corporation, which rose to become the country's dominant long-distance bus operator, was created through the efforts of one man, Carl Wickman. Swedish immigrant Wickman began the Mesaba Transportation Company in 1914 by transporting miners between the villages of Hibbing and Alice, on a seven-seat for twenty-five cents round trip or fifteen cents one-way.

The Hupmobile was conceived as a smart, reliable, yet economical, motorcar that bore the words Guaranteed for Life emblazoned below the name plate. The Hupmobile offered as regular features many items considered optional or even unobtainable on other cars of the time such as good performance from a four-cylinder engine, folding windshields, elliptical spring suspension and kerosene powered front and side lights.

In 1926, Wickman and his now partner Orville Swan Caesar, another regional line owner, began to expand their intrastate bus system nationally with capital supplied by the Great Northern Railroad. By 1930 their company officially became the Greyhound Corporation. 5

3 Sigafoos, Robert. Positively, Absolutely Overnight. (Memphis: Memphis State University Press, 1988), 24. 4 Boyd, Lydia. "Intercity Bus Travel." (Internet: http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu), 2. 5 Boyd, Lydia. "Intercity Bus Travel." (Internet: http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu), 2. NPS Form 10-900-a 0MB Approval No. 1024-0018 (8-86)

United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet

Dixie Greyhound Bus Lines Complex Section number 8 Page 8 Memphis, Shelby County, TN

The merger with the Greyhound Corporation allowed Smith the opportunity to purchase a minority interest in the newly named Dixie Greyhound Bus Lines. This merger was organized to consolidate the Greyhound Corporation in the South Central states from St. Louis, Missouri to Jackson, Mississippi and Birmingham, Alabama. Plans were announced for the construction of a new garage and office building located on Union Avenue west of the Peabody Hotel in Memphis (NR 9/14/1977). The Union Avenue garage and office building is no longer extant. 6

During the 1930s, the Greyhound Corporation developed into a genuine . In a very successful instance of early product placement, Greyhound bus travel by women was substantially increased after the release of the 1934 Academy Award romantic comedy, starring and Claudette Colbert on a road trip involving a Greyhound bus.

After the Greyhound merger, Frederick Smith now had capital and the acumen to recognize a business opportunity, especially one connected to the transportation industry. So in 1935, when a , TX, based restaurateur J. C. Steadman approached him about investing venture capital into Toddle House, his small, struggling, quick-service chain restaurant, Smith not only invested but he created the national headquarters in Memphis. 7

Chain restaurants had been around since the 1870s, especially on the Eastern Seaboard. They sprang up because increasingly more Americans found themselves away from home at mealtime and wanted a reliable place to eat. Heretofore, chain restaurants had existed in tight, dense urban patterns of development where they shared sidewalls with neighboring structures. However, recent changes in transportation such as the proliferation of the automobile provided a newfound mobility. Hence, restaurants now needed to stand as separate objects with distinctive architecture in order to capture the attention of the new legion of motorists and the need for a place to park.

Steadman specialized in quality controlled hamburgers, chili and pies, such as Chocolate Ice Box Pie. He called them Toddle Houses because the pre-assembled buildings tended to toddle somewhat when they were hauled to a site. Frederick Smith quickly built a national chain of these portable units of soothing, domestic images of brick or clapboard cottages with pitched roofs, twin chimneys and traditional detailing down to a white picket fence. The interior containing metal stools, tiled floors and shiny stainless steel equipment conveyed cleanliness and efficiency. 8

The need for national offices for the Toddle House Corporation and the larger Dixie Greyhound corporate offices as well as a larger garage and bus barn to handle the ever-expanding fleet of buses resulted in the June 1936 announcement of plans to construct a new $250,000 Dixie Greyhound garage and office building at the corner of North Main Street and Mill Avenue, the first new investment in that area in years. 9

The outgoing, flamboyant Frederick Smith, Sr. was also very successful with the opposite sex. He was married four times and had three children. His first two marriages each produced a daughter, one of which was adopted. His short-lived third marriage did not produce any heirs. In 1944, the 49-year-old Smith's 23-year-old fourth wife went into labor while they were visiting their Hernando, Mississippi farm and gave birth to his only son, Frederick Wallace Smith, Jr. in near-by Marks, Mississippi.

6 Commercial Appeal (Memphis), 1 February 1931. 7______, "Silver Anniversary of Toddle House Corporation" (Memphis, TN: National Toddle House Corporation Press Release, July 6, 1956) 1. 8 Philip Langdon, Orange Roofs, Golden Arches (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1986), 36-37. 9 Commercial Appeal (Memphis), 19 June 1936. NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 (8-86)

United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet

Dixie Greyhound Bus Lines Complex Section number 8 Page 9 Memphis, Shelby County, TN

By 1946, Smith's health had declined to the point that he resigned the presidency of Greyhound and was elected to the newly created position of chairman-of-the-board. After World War II ended, the personal automobiles and the passenger airplane began displacing buses for interstate travel. When Frederick Smith, Sr. passed away at age 53 from a heart attack in November 1948, his death coincided with the end of the dominance of the transcontinental bus industry as overcrowding and frequent breakdowns alienated the traveling public. 10

The capping of fares by regulators, notwithstanding rising wage and other costs, made it difficult in the early post-war era for the bus companies to modernize their fleets and terminals. The Dixie Greyhound Bus Lines operations continued at 525 North Main Street with Frederick's brother, Earl W. Smith, serving as president. The 1950s saw the merger of Dixie Greyhound with Southeastern and Teche divisions of the Greyhound Corporation, and the relocation of the main offices to Louisville, Kentucky. 11 However, the complex continued to serve as a garage and credit union for Greyhound Corporation employees until 1995.

The Toddle House Offices were moved to another location the year after Smith's death. At the time of Smith's death in 1948, the Toddle House Corporation had grown from an initial fourteen to more than 170 restaurants. By 1956 there were 205 Toddle Houses in 95 cities located in 30 states and Washington, D.C. When the Toddle House Company was sold in 1961, the estates of the elder Smith and his brother received stock reported to be worth $22 million. 12

The fortune amassed by Frederick Smith, Sr. from the Dixie Greyhound Bus Lines and the Toddle House restaurants later provided the start-up capital for son, Frederick, Jr. to begin the Memphis-based FedEx Corporation in the early 1970s, which revolutionized the transportation business with its innovative small package overnight delivery service. 13

After standing vacant for two years, Downtown Mini Storage, LLC purchased the complex in 1998. Today the Dixie Greyhound Bus Lines Complex is used as mini storage and offices. The current owner is applying for Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives. A request for a preliminary determination of individual listing was sent to the Technical Preservation Services on August 28, 2003.

10 Memphis Press-Scimitar (Memphis) 20 November 1948 11 Memphis Press-Scimitar (Memphis) 2 September 1954. 12 ______. "Silver Anniversary of Toddle House Corporation" (Memphis, TN: National Toddle House Corporation Press Release, July 6, 1956) 3. 13 Sigafoos, Robert. Positively, Absolutely Overnight. (Memphis: Memphis State University Press, 1988), 25. NPSForm10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 (8-86)

United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet

Dixie Greyhound Bus Lines Complex Section number 9 Page 10 Memphis, Shelby County, TN

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Boyd Lydia. "Intercity Bus Travel." Duke University: Digital Scriptorium Rare Book, Manuscript and Special Collections. Internet. Available from http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/adacess/carandbus.html. i Chiles-lsbell, Kimesia. "Dixie Greyhound Bus Lines Coverform". Memphis, TN: Memphis Heritage, Inc. 1988. Photocopied.

Langdon, Philip. Orange Roofs, Golden Arches. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 1986.

Sigafoos, Robert. Positively, Absolutely Overnight. Memphis: Memphis State University Press. 1988.

______/'Silver Anniversary of Toddle House Corporation". National Toddle House Corporation Press Release. July 6, 1956. Photocopied. NPSForm10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-001B (8-86)

United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet

Dixie Greyhound Bus Lines Complex Section number 10 Page 11 Memphis, Shelby County, TN

GEOGRAPHICAL DATA

Verbal Boundary Description and Justification

The Dixie Greyhound Bus Lines complex is bounded in part by North Main Street on the east, by Mill Street on the north side, by Front Street on the west, and by Sycamore Street on the south, as delineated on Shelby County tax map DE7 block 20, parcels 449, 450, and 452. The boundary includes land historically associated with the complex so excludes the southeast quadrant of the block, which is outside the period of significance. NPSForm10-900-a 0MB Approval No. 1024-0018 (8-86)

United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet

Dixie Greyhound Bus Lines Complex Section number 10 Page 12 Memphis, Shelby County, TN

Shelby County Tax Map DE7 Block20 Scale-1" = 200' NFS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. W24-O01B (8-86)

United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet

Dixie Greyhound Bus Lines Complex Section number Photographs Page 13 Memphis, Shelby County, TN

Photo List Photographs by: Judith Johnson Dixie Greyhound Garage and Office Buildings Date: May 2003 Memphis, Shelby County, TN Negatives: Tennessee Historical Commission

Photo 1 of 37 View from east of facade of garage and office building.

Photo 2 of 37 Detail of fa9ade signage.

Photo 3 of 37 View from west of north and rear elevations of garage and office building.

Photo 4 of 37 View from west of rear and south elevations of garage and office building.

Photo 5 of 37 View from west of rear elevation of bus barn.

Photo 6 of 37 View from the southwest of rear and south elevations of bus barn.

Photo 7 of 3 7 Interior of first floor office on south side of building.

Photo 8 of 37 Interior of east end of first floor garage area .

Photo 9 of 37 Detail-shed roof and garage doors.

Photo 10 of 37 Interior-garage with clearstory roof.

Photo 11 of 37 Detail-roofing structural system and clearstory windows.

Photo 12 of 37 Interior-garage area looking west.

Photo 13 of 37 Interior-stairwell on north side of 1st floor.

Photo 14 of 37 Detail-cast iron balustrade.

Photo 15 of 37 Interior-office suite on north side of first floor.

Photo 16 of 37 Interior-office suite on north side of first floor.

Photo 17 of 37 Detail-cast iron balustrade.

Photo 18 of 37 Interior-second floor offices looking south.

Photo 19 of 37 Interior-second floor men's washroom.

Photo 20 of 37 Detail-executive office-private door.

Photo 21 of 37 Interior-hall leading to executive office NFS Form 10-900-a OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 (8-86)

United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet

Dixie Greyhound Bus Lines Complex Section number Photographs Page 14 Memphis, Shelby County, TN

Photo 22 of 37 Interior- south wall of executive office.

Photo 23 of 37 Interior-east windows and south wall of executive office.

Photo 24 of 37 Detail-floor and wall paneling. Interior-administrative office.

Photo 25 of 37 Detail-floor and wall paneling.

Photo 26 of 37 Interior-storage area in northwest corner.

Photo 27 of 37 Interior-mail room

Photo 28 of 37 Interior-office on south east side of second floor.

Photo 29 of 37 Detail-south second floor corridor wall.

Photo 30 of 37 Detail-south second floor corridor floor.

Photo 31 of 37 Detail-company logo on wall in storage area.

Photo 32 of 37 Interior-storage area on second floor south end.

Photo 33 of 37 Interior-storage area on second floor south end.

Photo 34 of 37 View from northeast of bus barn north and eastern elevations.

Photo 35 of 37 Interior-bus barn, looking north.

Photo 36 of 37 Interior-bus barn, looking south.

Photo 37 of 37 Detail- boarded windows in bus barn.